The latest news about Ana!

Justin Luna: Ana, are you entering any tourneys in Florida over the next few months (unsure what the WTA schedule is right now). I am about to take the Bar exam in a week, and need a great way to unwind. Kick some butt! Sincerely, Justin Luna
Ana: Yes, I am playing in Miami next month and then in Amelia Island in April. I am looking forward to both tournaments. Amelia Island will be interesting because it is green clay, which is different to what I play on in Europe. Good luck in this exam!

As Ana prepares for four straight tournaments in North America, we take a look back at the opening two months of the season

Ana has a 12-5 win-loss record for the year and has equalled or bettered her performances at the corresponding tournaments last year. The highlight of Ana’s year so far was reaching her second Tier I final in Tokyo.

Nicole: Hey Ana!!! Do you prefer playing with a sun visor, a cap or without anything on your head?
Ana: I never wear a cap to play, I don’t find them so comfortable and they are quite deep, so it is not good for the serve. If I am going to wear something on my head when I play it is always a sun visor. We play so often in the sun, you get so used to wearing one, so I sometimes even wear them indoors! But they can help too because they keep the hair out of your face.

Ana is unchanged at No.14 in the latest Sony Ericsson WTA Tour world rankings, which are published today. However, her quarter-final placing in Antwerp last week means that she has closed the gap between herself and Patty Schyder, who is ranked 13th.

In the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships Ana remains in seventh place; the top eight qualify for the season-ending event in Madrid. Ana’s doubles ranking is still No.74.

The biggest riser of the week is Russian Anna Chakvetadze. Her semi-final appearance in Antwerp sees her enter the top 10 for the first time.

Today we are launching our monthly prize give away. The winner of the February contest will receive a brand new Wilson nCode nTour Two racket (unstrung) accompanied with a photograph of Ana that she will personally sign and address.

Ana lost 6-2, 6-1 to former world No.1 Kim Clijsters in the quarter-finals of the Proximus Diamond Games. Contesting her fourth quarter-final of 2007, Ana was simply outplayed by the Belgian, who was on top form throughout the 55-minute match.

Clijsters was in outstanding form from the word “play”. She hit 35 winners and just 15 unforced errors and she served at 70 per cent. Conversely, Ana never fully settled in the partisan atmosphere, created by a 14,000-strong home crowd that savoured the Belgian’s last ever appearance in Antwerp.

Ana beat world No.54 Nathalie Dechy 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 in the second round of the Proximus Diamond Games. It was a somewhat lacklustre performance by the 19-year-old, but she goes on to face second seed Kim Clijsters in the quarter-finals tomorrow.

Dechy, who has been ranked as high as 11th, made a poor start. Despite serving four double faults in her opening two service games, Ana raced into a 3-0 lead.